1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved internal aerodynamic design for a hard disk drive and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for diffusing and contracting air flow within a hard disk drive to reduce flow-induced vibrations of the arm, suspension and slider as well as the rotating disks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a data access and storage system consists of one or more storage devices that store data on magnetic or optical storage media. For example, a magnetic storage device is known as a direct access storage device (DASD) or a hard disk drive (HDD) and includes one or more disks and a disk controller to manage local operations concerning the disks. The hard disks themselves are usually made of aluminum alloy or a mixture of glass and ceramic, and are covered with a magnetic coating. Typically, one to six disks are stacked on a common spindle that is turned by a disk drive motor at several thousand revolutions per minute (rpm).
A typical HDD also utilizes an actuator assembly. The actuator moves magnetic read/write heads to the desired location on the rotating disk so as to write information to or read data from that location. Within most HDDs, the magnetic read/write head is mounted on a slider. A slider generally serves to mechanically support the head and any electrical connections between the head and the rest of the disk drive system. The surface of the slider facing the disk is aerodynamically shaped to create an air bearing in order to maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk, thereby preventing the head from undesirably contacting the disk.
Typically, a slider is formed with an aerodynamic pattern of protrusions on its air bearing surface (ABS) that enables the slider to fly at a substantially constant height close to the disk during operation of the disk drive. A slider is associated with each side of each disk and flies just over the disk's surface. Each slider is mounted on a suspension to form a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The HGA is then attached to a semi-rigid actuator arm that supports the entire head flying unit. Several semi-rigid arms may be combined to form a single movable unit having either a linear bearing or a rotary pivotal bearing system.
The head and arm assembly is linearly or pivotally moved utilizing a magnet/coil structure that is often called a voice coil motor (VCM). The stator of a VCM is mounted to a base plate or casting on which the spindle is also mounted. The base casting with its spindle, actuator VCM, and internal filtration system is then enclosed with a cover and seal assembly to ensure that no contaminants can enter and adversely affect the reliability of the slider flying over the disk. When current is fed to the motor, the VCM develops a torque that is substantially proportional to the applied current. The arm acceleration is therefore substantially proportional to the magnitude of the current. As the read/write head approaches a desired track, a reverse polarity signal is applied to the actuator, causing the signal to act as a brake, and ideally causing the read/write head to stop and settle directly over the desired track.
In the prior art, a number of solutions have been proposed to enhance the air flow within hard disk drives, such as bypass channels located adjacent to the disk pack. For example, Japanese Patent JP53-47089, to Yasuaki, reveals a hard disk device in which air guides 20, 30 only guide a central portion of the flow of air back to the disks. Japanese Patent JP62-85997, to Wakatsuki, discloses a magnetic disk device (FIGS. 3–5) in which a housing 31 with doors 20 guides the flow of air from the disks to a filter. U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,453, to Wood, reveals diverter ramps 220, 222 (FIG. 9) that also only affect a central portion of the air flow.
Currently known implementations of bypass channels such as these force a sudden widening of the air flow cross-section by as much as 50%. The sum of the thicknesses of the disk(s) in the disk pack is a significant fraction of the height of the bypass channel in the direction of the spindle axis. As a result, present designs cause objectionable disk base drag due to the disk wakes in the bypass channel. Moreover, there is also objectionable drag due to re-acceleration of the slow, bypass air flow around the actuator. Thus, an improved solution for streamlining air flow within a hard disk drive would be desirable.